World Cup Preview: Group C

Group C
England
The English truly have a good, solid, well rounded team this year with a lot of depth at every position. Although the English might not have the talent of some teams they will not get tired because of their bench which is stacked with players just as good or a little worse than their starters. Coach Fabio Capello has a lot to work with because he could start over ten combinations in the back line. England’s back line features all well known defenders in the EPL such as John Terry, Ashley Cole, Ledly King, Michael Dawson, Matthew Upson, Steven Warnock, Rio Ferdinand and Jamie Carragher. They have three average goalies in Joe Hart, Robert Green and the veteran David James. Their midfield consists of true stars such as Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard who are the captains of their respective club teams. You would think that these two would work wonders playing side by side in the center but however that has not worked well in the past. This could prove to be a concern for England however it seems that under Capello’s watch the two are learning how to play together. The English also have plenty of pace on the wings with players such as Shawn Wright-Phillips, Theo Walcott and Aaron Lennon a well as Joe cole and Ashley Young. They will miss David Beckham’s set piece skill and crossing of the ball but these players should be able to help England regardless. Even with one of the best players in the world in Wayne Rooney playing up front, forward is England’s weakest position. You know you don’t have great forwards if Emile Heskey made the roster. Emile Heskey has not been a top goal-scorer in the English league since the early 2000’s. Besides Rooney their next best forward is probably either Peter Crouch or Jermaine Defoe who play club soccer together at Tottenham. I thought Capello’s only mistake was not putting Angbondlahor from Aston Villa on the squad. He deserved it over Heskey. As for England’s chances in the world cup they should easily make it out of their group and have a great shot at making it at least to the quarter finals. My prediction is that this year they will take it one step further and get to the semi-finals and maybe the finals. A thing to remember is that Fabio Capello wins, he has one with AC Milan, Roma, Juventus and Real Madrid so his experience could really propel England forward.
USA
It is hard to tell how the USA will perform in the world cup this year. We know that they have the ability to go far and if they play to their full ability they should be able to get out of their group without too much trouble. The biggest problem for the United States seems to be their consistency. The Confederations cup last summer is a perfect example. The USA started off getting destroyed by an ancient Italian side that was not playing to its full ability. As expected the USA then lost to a very talented Brazil side. Somehow it was still mathematically possible to qualify but the USA needed a miracle. The USA needed to beat Egypt 3 0 and needed Italy to lose by three. Somehow this miracle came true and the USA pulled a shock upset over Spain in the semi finals. Although a win against Spain is great, it is nothing to be extremely proud of due to their inconsistency which was shown again the other night in Connecticut when the USA went down to the Czech Republic who did not even qualify for this year’s World Cup. Sure the USA played it’s “second line”, however the Czechs did were also missing a good half a squad and still managed to beat a team that is going to the World Cup on their home soil 4-2. The game against the Czech republic showed the incredible inconsistency that the USA can have and also demonstrated that there is not too much depth in the roster for this year’s tournament. If the United States wants to do what they did in 2002 and make a good run, they will need to consistently play at a high level and someone will need to step up besides Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey. The defense will have to play well and Donovan and the midfield need to find a way to score goals if the USA is going to make a run due simply to the fact that the USA does not have a “true” forward. Jozy Altidore, the man considered to be the future of USA soccer only had 1 goal in 28 appearances at Hull City. Anyway what occurred in 2002 could happen (or not, depends on consistency) and I do put USA as the favorite for that second spot behind England.
Algeria
Algeria have a surprisingly well rounded and talented young side with promising players all over Europe. Their main problem will be a lack of veteran leadership and experience because they have not reached the world stage often. Algeria field a young side featuring mostly up and coming players. The more well known players are Kevin Prince Boateng and Belhadj from Portsmouth. Algeria’s main problem will be there lack of world cup experience but there advantage lies in the element of surprise. They will probably be slightly overlooked so if they can surprise people they definitely have a shot at pulling some big upsets. Their chances of getting out of the group aren’t great but it’s definitely not impossible. I would put them as an underdog to get the second spot behind England but it is possible to get a result against the United states and sneak out of the group.
Slovenia
Slovenia come into the world cup almost completely unknown but they do come in on a high note after beating Russia (who are considered a much more talented team) on away goals. This is a team that will most likely be overlooked because they have virtually no well known players. Slovenia also completely lack world cup experience and have not played on the world stage often. Slovenia’s only chance is to surprise the opposition, try to get early leads and hang on for dear life. Squeezing out results against Algeria and the United States will be crucial if they wish to get out of there group which will be very difficult.
1. England
2. USA
3. Slovenia
4. Algeria